Old Wind
by katiecav
Summary: O.O.C. and A.U.H. - This is loosly based on garth brooks song that ol' wind. At least for the frist 4 or 5 chapters. full summery inside. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

**Summery**

**Bella's a single mom. She has a little boy that she loves with all of her heart. She's the editor of the paper she's worked at for the last 12 years. She's fine with her life. Except there's one thing missing. The boy's father. **

**Edward is a singer. He loves his music, he loves his fans. Edward's life is publicly perfect, but something inside is missing. He needs a break and decides that after this tour that is exactly what he plans on doing. He's lonely. And he can't stop thinking of one woman he had spent one night with ten years ago. **

Chapter 1- Bella

"Michel!" Bella yelled up the stairs. "Michel come on, you won't have time to eat!"

"I'm coming!" He yelled.

"Make sure you put a sweater on today!"

"Okay!"

Bella smiled as she thought about her life and how different it was because of Michel. He was the love of her life. He made her smile and he held her heart in his hands. He came running down the stairs and into the kitchen. Bella handed him a plate with his breakfast on it. He held it with both hands and went to the table and sat in his chair. He smiled as she walked in to sit down with her plate. "So what are you doing today?" She asked with a smile.

"Well…I'm gonna be in the spelling bee today."

"Really?"

"Yeah. I'm a good speller. Are you a good speller Momma?"

"Yes I think I am. It's my job to be after all sweetie."

"Oh. Right." She nodded and smiled while Michel continued to talk on and on in between his bites of eggs and bacon.

"Okay honey. Go brush your teeth we've got to get going."

"Okay momma." He said and he dashed back up the stairs and Bella cleared the table and placed the dishes in the dish washer. It hadn't been easy for Bella. She got pregnant the summer she was done with high school. She was working as an intern reporter for the paper. It wasn't easy to handle. The paper, the pregnancy and journalism school, but Bella had done it. Now she was the editor at the paper, was a world known journalist, and she had the best thing she could ever hope for in Michel.

"You ready little man?" She asked as he came bounding into the kitchen. He nodded as he put his jacket on. He put on his back pack and looked up at her with a smile. "Okay lets go." She said as she grabbed her purse, her keys, and two brown paper bags out of the refrigerator and walked out into the garage and into the car. "Buckle up!"

"Buckle. B-U-C-K-L-E."

Bella laughed. "Very good." The whole way to the elementary school she gave him words to practice spelling. When she pulled in front of the school he unbuckled his seat belt. "Okay here's your lunch." She said handing him one of the paper bags. "Give me a kiss." She said turning her cheek to him as he reached to grab it."

"Mom…" he whined but kissed her cheek anyway.

She chuckled at his response. "Okay. Get out of here. I'll pick you up from Jimmy's house after soccer practice okay." She said as he shut the door of her SUV. She stayed long enough to see two girls standing by the doors bat their eyelashes at him. She laughed again. He was more like his father than he would ever know. She put the car in gear and pulled away.

She always thought more about him around this time of year. Fall was always worse, because it always bore resemblance of their time together. She couldn't think about _him_ it would only cause old memories to come up, and she didn't want to cry again. She turned on the radio to distract her, It worked until she was almost to the office. Then a song came on that she remembered all too well. The end of it she recognized. She let out a breath as the DJ's voice came over the radio.

"Folks that was an old favorite that we played for you for a very special reason."

"What's that reason?" asked the other DJ of the morning show.

"He'll be coming back to town for one last concert tonight."

"Here like our little town here? Not Seattle?"

"Nope not Seattle. Here, so get your tickets now."

And with that she started to cry as she pulled into her parking spot.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2- Edward

He was worn out. He thought fleetingly that maybe he was getting to old for this kind of thing. He had been touring on and recording now for over ten years. It had been too long since he had a serious break. Until now that had never really mattered. Don't misunderstand him, he loved what he did. Music was his passion it always had been and he had gotten lucky, he'd gotten discovered with the help of a beautiful brunette reporter from a small town on the outside of Seattle.

Forks. He always found his mind wondering back to that sleepy little town. More specifically to a brown eyed girl that he had missed ever since he left ten years ago. That was another problem. He realized more and more every day that he was lonely. His brothers had both found their significant others. Rose and Alice had graced our presence when we were still in the early days of the band. Before long they were permanent fixtures on the tour buses.

I was glad to see my brothers so happy. Rose was really the best thing in the world for Emmett. She was a blonde bombshell that had immediately caught Emmett's attention and he had decided to make a move on her at the bar we were playing at in LA. Jasper and I watched from a distance as not only did she turn him down but she smacked him to boot. We busted out laughing as Emmett stood there opened mouthed as she walked away. She gave him the cold shoulder for the rest of the night, but he was persistent. Emmett finally reluctantly said we should just leave he had to get his car to the body shop the next day.

Emmett was a fan of classic cars. And he had just picked up a fixer upper and was going to take it to the body shop that had the best reputation for their work. I followed Emmett in the Jeep with Jasper as we pulled up to the garage. The guy who Emmett was talking to as we walked up to him turned to yell out.

"Hey Rose. Customer for you!"

"Rose?" Emmett asked curiously as a memorable blonde rolled out from under a nearby car. Emmett's mouth dropped as her eyes got big. That was all it was for a while. Emmett kept finding cars to take to her, just to see her. She was studiously keeping up the strictly working relationship. It was almost a year before he had finally gotten her to agree to one date. They have been together ever sense. Rose was the only one able to put up with Emmett's attitude. Finally after years of patience Emmett got down on one knee and Rose married him about 5 years ago.

Jasper and Alice were totally different. Alice was a short, spunky, fire ball that we all loved fiercely. We met on our first official photo shoot. Alice was the stylist that we had that day and for every day after at Jasper's request. It had taken one look for Alice and Jasper to realize that they were right for each other. She was everything Jasper wasn't. While Jasper was quiet, reserved, and charismatic. Alice was loud, energetic, and to be perfectly honest, pushy. But we all loved her just the same. They had gotten married almost 7 years ago now. And in that time they've had one child and have another on the way.

Our parents, well our adopted parents, Carlisle and Esme had been our rocks. Always there to support and to love us through everything we came across. Everyone had someone in their lives, everyone that is, but me. He was sitting in his bus, only him and the bus driver. They had gotten separate buses shortly after the girls joined them. It was in everyone's best interest. He didn't need to know anything about his brother's love lives and with all of them living on one tour bus it would only be a matter of time before he walked in on something that he wouldn't want to see.

Of course he knew that he wanted someone in his life. He hadn't always been alone. He'd had his fair share of partners in the last few years, but none of them really filled the loneliness. Well only one of them had. Ten years ago.

The decision to stop the touring was defiantly a mutual decision. Rose and Emmett were ready to open their own shop in the valley, Jasper and Alice were finding it difficult to raise a child on the road, and me…he wanted to find the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with and he knew where he would start looking. Forks.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 –Bella

"Jacob can I see you in my office please." Bella said as she walked through the news room on the way back to her office.

Jacob jumped up and followed her in confusion. Bella had known Jacob almost her entire life. She moved out here to live with her father when she was 17 her and Jacob became friends. No, they were more than friends for a while. They tried to be anyway. That was before they both realized that it wouldn't work. They were still best friends and when Bella had started as Editor of the paper her first act was to hire Jacob as a sports writer. She slumped into her office chair and Jacob closed the door behind him and he came over to her desk. He sat down on her desk facing her.

"Bells." He said trying to get her to look up at him. When he did he reached out to touch her cheek. "What's wrong? Have you been crying?" She just looked up in his eyes and he could tell. "What's going on? Is it Michel?"

"No. No. It's not Michel. Not really."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Jacob. He's…He's back."

"Who Bells? Who's back?"

"Edward. He's coming back to town."

"Oh. Bells…" He reached up and rubbed her arm. "What…what are you gonna do?"

"What do you mean what am I going to do?" she snapped and then wished she hadn't. Jacob understood though.

"Are you going to see him?"

"I don't know Jacob. I really don't know." She sighed. "I don't know if I want to."

"I know you _want_ to Bells."

"Well _should_ I?"

"I can't answer that for you. You know that. How…How long is he…"

"Just one night."

"Did you ever…"

"No I never told him. I couldn't."

"Why couldn't you?"

"Because if he loved me at all he would have stayed, he would have come back…"

"Bells…"

"I think I do need to tell him though. He deserves…he has a right to know."

"Yeah."

"Can you watch Michel tonight? It's been a while since he's spent any time with you anyway. I think he's missing his uncle Jake."

"Yeah sure I'll watch the little man tonight. No problem. You sure you want to do this?"

"No." She answered truthfully. Jacob got up to leave her alone in her office. She put her head in her hands. She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure at all. She knew that Jacob was right. She did _want_ to see him, but the question was if _he_ wanted to see _her_. It had been as plain as day to her that she wasn't anything more than a speed bump on his long road of women. She sat down and remembered.

It was her first assignment for the paper. She had been assigned to go and see the up and coming Edward Cullen and his band perform at the county fair. I was supposed to write about not just the performance but also the man. Edward. God, Edward. He was her age and here he was already on the fast track to fame. Well, sort of. He had a following, but he was one of those unsigned wonders, hoping to catch a break and get signed to a major label. And they deserved every bit of the fame the achieved over the years.

She was the first to break a story on them, and she would forever hold that honor. She was enamored by him. He had the most beautiful voice, and he could play a piano and guitar so well that it would make any professional jealous. He always seemed like he was singing right to you. Like his words were meant for you and only you. She used her press pass to get an interview with him. He was nice. He was polite, and it didn't take long for the interview part of their conversation to be over, but neither one of them wanted to leave each other. They sat and talked for hours about everything and anything. That night changed her life and Edward Cullen would forever hold her heart.

He asked her twice to come with him. But at that point they barely had enough to afford getting the band from one place to another, they didn't need her along with them. Plus she had her job here and she couldn't afford to start over at a different paper. When he left that next morning she felt a little piece of herself break with each turn of the wheel. It was two weeks later that she found out she was pregnant. She could never bring herself to tell him. Not long after she published her article in Seattle Edward and his band was signed. She didn't want to be that girl. The girl that was nothing more than a one night stand that won't disappear. She didn't want to hear him say that she did mean anything. She couldn't bear it. So she held fast to her dream. Now it was different. It had been ten years and she had been able to raise Michel all on her own. She hadn't needed his help. He had the right to know that he had a son though. She had to tell him, she just didn't know how.

She had hoped that the reason for his return to Forks now was because he wanted to see her again, but that was impossible. Maybe he was forced to go to the place that started his career to end his last tour. Maybe he had forgotten all about her. Well she would go. If he didn't recognize her she would just call it at that and just go home with just the comfort of being able to see him one last time. Maybe she would give him a letter and a picture. There was enough of his father in him that he would be able to tell that it was his child. They had the same color eyes and the almost the same face. It was impossible for her to miss the resemblance. Some had even remarked on how much him he looks like. Bella would always attempt to laugh it off and say that maybe a little, but they were right. He looked like his father so much it almost hurt her sometimes. She had to do this for him. She had to do it for her little angel.

She had made up her mind. She didn't accomplish anything that day except to write the letter to Edward about Michel. She put it in an envelope and slipped one of the pictures she kept in her desk in the envelope and put it in her purse. Jake caught up to her in the elevator on her way down.

"Meet you at your house?" He asked.

"Yeah that's fine. I have to go and pick him up at his friend's house. He had soccer today, so Rosa didn't watch him."

"Okay. I'll let myself in."

"Yeah that's fine."

"Okay." He said and they headed to their cars.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4- Edward

"Dude you're name's wrong." Emmett said as we pulled up in front of the old theatre in Forks.

"What?" Edward turned to see what he was talking about and the marquee did display his name wrong, but he could see why. Some of the letters had blown off in the storm that had passed through. He didn't care. It wasn't for notoriety that he was there. It was to see if he could find her.

"Why are we here again?" Emmett asked

"Because Emmett. This is where it really started for us. Well as a band anyway. My life started when I saw this one." Jasper said looking down at Alice and placing a hand on her stomach.

"Aw…Jazz. You are so sweet you know that?" We all rolled our eyes. "but you're still in trouble for this morning. Nice try though." We all started laughing at that but it stopped when we saw Jasper glaring daggers at us. "I think it's fantastic that you guys come back here. It will be a good way to conclude the tour. Well almost. The actual end is in Seattle right?"

"Yeah. And then we're going to spend some time with mom and dad." Edward Answered.

"Well that's good. Mary hasn't seen them in a long time." Alice said.

"Yeah." Edward answered only really half way paying attention to his family. Being back here brought all the memories back stronger. They flooded back to him. The way she looked. The way she smelled. The way she felt. It's always said that you remember your first and he has never forgotten his brown eyed angel. Bella. His beautiful Bella. As soon as he set all of this up he began to worry. What if she had left? What if no one knew here where he could find her? What would he do then? He had to see her. He had been plagued for the longest time about if what he did was the right thing. When his bus had pulled away from that fair grounds he had looked back to see her still standing there watching, clutching at her chest. He had hidden in his corner of the bus until they had gotten home. Then he hid in his room until they had to go to another gig. He had felt like he had left a part of him back with her.

He had given her a chance. A chance to come with him. He almost knew before he asked that she would say no, but he had to ask her. He had wanted her to say yes so badly, but she was right. It just wasn't the right time. But he was _sure_ she was the right girl. He had never heard from her after that night. He wondered if maybe it didn't mean the same thing to her as it did to him. He would find her now. If for nothing else than to know if she felt the same connection he did. It made him nervous though.

What would he do if he found her and she was already taken? What if she was married and had children by now. It was entirely possible that it could have happened. Even the thought of his Bella being with another man almost made him ill.

"Edward?" Alice's concerned voice broke into his thoughts. "Edward? Are you alright?"

"Yeah Alice. I'm sorry were you saying something?"

"No." She looked around her. The others had already left them. Off to do one thing or the other. "Edward…is this about…her." Alice had been one of the few people that knew about Bella. Or at least, knew that he still thought about her. It was remarkable how close he felt to Alice. He could tell her anything. Her and Jasper were his confidants, and he was thankful for them. "I thought it was."

"Do you think that this is a mistake Alice?"

"No. No I don't. I want you to be happy Edward. You've been unhappy too long."

"Thanks."

"No problem but when it gets to be time for your wedding. You give me all rights to plan it."

He laughed. "Let's not count chickens. Okay Ali. Let's just see if I can find her first."

"Oh you will. I'm positive."

"One of your feelings?"

"Don't mock. They've never been wrong."

"Okay. Okay." And with that they headed into the theatre. All day he was wound up so tight waiting for the show. He never got nervous about a show, but now he was nervous. He blew through the sound check in a blur not really registering a single thing that was being said. That night we went out on stage there weren't that people there in the crowd, as to be expected in a small town like this. He had finished singing their second song before he really looked out into the crowd. There she was beautiful brown eyes shining up at him in the front row.

She was still beautiful. If he had expected time to change that it hadn't. She had matured slightly. Her eyes had lost some of their innocence and her hairs wild curls had been tamed into soft curls around her face, but other than that it was almost as she was when they met ten years ago. Complete with the blush that crossed her face when she felt him watching her. The rest of the show he sang to her and to her only. When he left the stage he stood anxiously waiting to see what would happen next. He had made himself promise that if she came back to see him then he would know that it met as much to her as it did to him.

And he waited and waited, and waited and waited. He was about to give up when he heard knock on his bus door. He took a deep breath and went to the door. He opened it and there she stood. She was here. Close enough for him to see, to smell, to touch. It was better than any dream he had ever had.

"Hello." She said quietly. He closed his eyes at the sound. He'd lost count of how many times he'd dreamed of her voice.

"Bella." He let out in a breath.

She looked surprised. "You…I didn't think…I wasn't sure if you'd remember me."

"I've never forgotten you. How could I?" He asked as he reached out to cup her cheek. He knew maybe he was pushing his luck, but he needed to feel her to make sure that this was real. She leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. When she opened them again he could see moisture that wasn't there before and right then he didn't care. The worst she could do was push him away. He leaned in and their lips met. He felt like he was coming home in that moment.

He meant it to be a short kiss, but the moment their lips met he lost all brain function. It was a moment before he realized that she wasn't really reacting. He was starting to get scared when he felt her hand at the back of his neck and pull herself to him. He pulled her into the bus and shut the door before kissing her again. When they finally separated from lack of oxygen he rested his forehead on hers. "Bella I…" she put a hand to his lips to stop him from speaking.

"Before…Before you say anything. You need to know Edward…" She paused and he felt his heart breaking. She was going to tell him that she was already with someone. That she had never really felt anything for him, let alone the love he was hoping that she felt. "I…I love you Edward Cullen. I always have, and when you left. Edward. I broke inside."

"Me too. God Bella me too." And he kissed her again. She loved him. And he loved her, the rest they could figure out later. They would do it they could do it. There they sat on the couch in his bus talking like on the first day they met.

They talked for hours, about everything that has happened since they'd seen each other last. She had gotten her dream job. She started a Forks office for the Seattle paper and her and a few others worked there. Every so often she would have to drive to Seattle for meetings but only every once and a while. She was the editor. Everything could be mailed to her. But that wasn't it. She had a little boy. He watched as her eyes lit up talking about him. He was torn. He was glad to see her happy, but with a son it would be nearly impossible for him to convince her to come with him to LA this time, but he was going to try.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5 – Bella

Bella woke in the morning with a strong pair of arms around her. At first she thought that it was another one of her dreams. And as far as hallucinations go this one was pretty amazing. If felt as though he was really holding her again. Then as she slowly woke further she realized that she wasn't dreaming. She was really there laying in Edwards arms again and she felt safer there than she had in years. She felt like she was home. She sighed contently as she thought back to last night.

She had gotten tickets for the front row center of his concert for the night. She wanted to make sure that he could see her. By the end of the second song our eyes finally met. I felt myself blush as he stared at me. I thought, no I hoped, that it meant that he remembered me, but maybe he just thought I was a pretty face. It was better than I imagined seeing him for real. Pictures could never do him justice and she had begun to think that maybe she had built him up in her memory. She hadn't though. She stood there looking up into his face and found herself lost in the green eyes that he shared with his son.

She had to talk herself up quite a lot before she got the nerve to go to the buses. She used her press pass to get past the security guards and assistants. She asked a person passing by which bus belonged to Edward. Once pointed in the right direction she had to take some deep breaths before knocking. She was glad that she did.

She had never intended for them to sleep together again. That wasn't her intention at all. In fact her intention was to tell him about Michel. She had told him about him, just not the fact that he was Michel's father. She didn't know how to do it now. Not that she regretted sleeping with him again. She regretted the fact that she knew he would be leaving her soon. She remembered the letter in the manila envelope in her purse out by the couch. It would seem wrong to give it to him now after spending the time with him tonight.

He had told her that he loved her. He kept saying it over and over again last night. She knew that this time she would do things differently. She didn't know how she was going to be able to do it. She couldn't go with him. He had asked her once last night while we were talking, to come with him. She couldn't pick up and move, not being the editor of the paper and not with Michel. She also couldn't let herself hold Edward back. She couldn't be selfish and ask him to stay. She couldn't do that to him.

She felt his arms pull her closer to him and his lips touched her shoulder. She rolled over to face him and smiled. He reached out to touch her cheek. "I still can't believe you're here." He said his voice incredibly sexy and rough with sleep.

She chuckled breathlessly once and reached out to touch his hair. It was still the beautiful bronze that she remembered. To be able to feel it again was an addicting experience and she couldn't stop herself. "I'm here." He leaned in and kissed her again. They knew that their time was coming to a close and they got dressed far too soon in her opinion. While he was in the bathroom she took off a ring that she always wore. It was a simple silver band with her name engraved on it. She took it and placed it on his dresser next to the dog tags he always wore on stage, that he said belonged to his dad. He knew he would find it and know that she wasn't going to forget him this time he left either.

Before too long they were standing outside his bus again. Just like they were the last time he had been here. "Bella…Please…Come with me." He asked again.

"Edward…I can't…I want to…god I want to…but I can't." He nodded. She reached up and stood on her toes to kiss him again. And she turned to walk to her car to hide her tears. Each step that she took away from that bus was like a dagger to her heart. She stood there by her car waiting. She didn't know what was holding her there but she couldn't leave. She was waiting. He had to leave first. So she waited. 5 minutes later she heard his bus turn on and start to move away. The tears started running again through the fresh rip it was making in her heart. She closed her eyes and opened them when she couldn't hear the bus any longer.

There he stood. Where his bus had been only a few minutes later. She could remember how to breathe as he walked closer to her with a bag in his hand. He walked right over to her and set down his bag next to her. "Edward…What are you…"

He held up her ring. "I thought I lost you once already Isabella Marie Swan. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice." Tears falling down her eyes in streams she kissed him long and hard as the buses with his band in them drove away in the distance.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6 – Edward

He knew the second she left him by the bus that he couldn't do it. He couldn't leave her. Now that he had found her again. He dashed back into the bus and threw some clothes in a bag. He could always get them later. He had a show in Seattle and he would get them then. He reached out to get his father's dog tags and saw something there. It was Bella's ring. She had told me about it. Her mother had given it to her and she never took it off. She had left it here. She had left it for him. He heard the bus start and he ran up to talk to the driver. He smiled and laughed as Edward got off the bus. He would have to call his brothers and tell them about his change in plans. But right now as he stood there kissing Bella he knew that he had made the right choice.

She broke away from him out of breath. "Are you sure? I mean…I'm not…I've got Michel and…"

He grabbed a hold of her face and held her there wiping away at the tears on her cheeks. "Bella, I've never been surer of anything in my entire life." She started crying again and he pulled her close and held her while she cried. Finally the tears stopped. "Are you sure you want to keep me? I've been told I have some annoying habits." He said with a small chuckle.

"I'm sure about you Edward. I want all of you. Annoying habits and all." She gestured to the SUV behind us. "You ready?"

"Yeah." He said as he opened the driver's side door for her and went around to the other side. She popped open the back end and he put his bag in there and shut it and jogged back to the passenger side door. He grabbed her hand in between them and then brought their intertwined hands up to his lips to give hers a kiss. She smiled and started the car.

They drove in comfortable silence until they pulled up to a new looking housing development. Bella pulled into a drive and turned off the engine. She took a deep breath. "Are you okay?" He asked.

"I'm nervous."

"What about? I'm the one meeting the most important person in your life. Shouldn't I be the nervous one?"

"Well you're not meeting him yet. Jake's car isn't here. He probably took him to reservation to fish." He thought about that. He wondered if Jake was Michel's father. Though he didn't like to think about anyone else with Bella at least he was involved in his son's life. That spoke of good character.

"They do that a lot?" He asked as they got out of the car.

"Sometimes…they go and spend time with Dad still. It's something for all of them to do together." She explained as he shouldered his bag and followed her up onto the porch. She turned a key in the lock and turned to him. "Okay. I'm giving you one more chance. I come with a lot of extra stuff Edward. I don't want to make you feel like…"

"Bella. I want to do this. I want you. All of you. Extra stuff and all." He reached up and grabbed her face and spoke taking her words and changing them slightly.

She smiled. "Okay then. I warn you though. The boys were here all night by themselves. I don't know the state that it's in." She opened the door and he smiled. It was just like what he thought her home would be like. Most of it was clean and orderly. There were picture frames covering the walls. The living room that they walked into was disorderly, but not too messy. There was a pizza box left on the floor along with blankets and what looked like cases for some video games. She sighed. "Well I was expecting worse." she said picking up the pizza box. He smiled as she walked off through the small dining room that was set up. He could see that there were actually three levels to this house. There was a small set of stairs that led downstairs and another that lead upstairs.

"I like your house." He said to her as he began to walk toward the pictures on the mantle. There was one of her at her high school graduation. The next was one of a couple, the woman he only guessed was Bella's mother because of the resemblance to Bella that there was. The next was a picture of Bella's father. He could tell it was him from the police uniform he was wearing. The next was taken of Bella and a little boy. That had to be Michel.

Bella was wearing a huge smile. Her brown hair was flowing freely around her head framing her face. In her arms was a boy of about six or seven. He was a beautiful little boy. He was pale like his mother and had her wild brown hair only strait. He was tall and lanky, but what held Edward's gaze were two bright green eyes in the picture, and the shape of the jaw and nose. Edward had let the bag slide down to the floor with a thud. Bella came back around the corner. "Edward?" But she stopped when she saw what he was looking at.

"Bella…Bella…Jake. Is Jake Michel's father?" He said holding on to the picture of the little boy.

"No." She answered quietly. "Jake is a family friend. We've known each other since we were little."

"Who…" He began, but he was beginning to think he already knew the answer to that question. "How old…how old is Michel Bella?"

"He's nine, He'll be ten in a few months." He quickly did the math in his head and it matched as he suspect it would.

"Bella…is…am…am I…is Michel…"

Bella nodded. "Yes. Yes Edward. Michel…Michel's your son." He felt his knees go week and he sat down on the couch. Bella ran to his side and fell on his knees in front of him. He ran his hand through his hair while the other held the picture of his child.

He couldn't believe that this was happening. He was confused and happy and mad all at the same time. It seemed like everything he had ever wanted had been granted to him all in the same day. But also he didn't understand how Bella could keep something like this from him for ten years. "Edward…I'm sorry. I didn't want you to find out like this…well I suppose its better you found out like this. No it would have been better if I would have told you yesterday like I planned on it."

"It would have been nice if you would have told me ten years ago!" He said his voice raising an octave from the stress.

"Edward…I…I didn't know how to get a hold of you! And you didn't really try to get a hold of me either!" she started to explain. "And even if I had an idea of how to get in touch with you, I didn't know that you _loved_ me. I didn't want to keep you tied down here. By the time I found out I was pregnant you were being whisked away to work on your album and I didn't…I didn't think I meant anything more to you than one night. I didn't want to hear it from you because it was so much more to me."

I understood that, but how could she keep a child from me for ten years? "I could have helped you Bella. Didn't you think I would want to be there for you? For him?"

"I know Edward I know."

"Does _he_ know? Does he know that I'm his father?"

"No." He took a deep breath and she continued speaking. "No Edward I never told him. Jacob knows and my dad knows, but they're the only ones. I never told anyone. It's not that I was ashamed of it Edward. It wasn't that at all. It was that I didn't want you to have to suffer from the fallback…Edward. I know, now that you know this, me staying with you last night looks bad. Really bad, but I want you to know that I didn't come to get you to _stay_ with me. I can take care of Michel by myself. I don't need help. I may have been tempted sometimes, because it wasn't easy. I was pregnant and starting college and had the job at the paper. It was almost impossible to handle sometimes, but I did handle it. I just thought since you were going to step away from touring and you were coming back to Forks of all places, I thought that it was s sign. I shouldn't have kept Michel from you for so long. You deserved to know. And I'll always be sorry for that." She took a shaky breath and he looked up to see the tears streaming down her face. He always made her cry and he hated himself for each tear she shed. "I get it if you don't want to be here anymore with me. I get it. I'll drive you to where ever." She said getting up to walk away from him.

"Bella." He reached out to grab her arm. "Bella that's not what…It's just a lot to take in. I mean I've been a father for almost a third of my life and had no idea about it. It's a lot to get used to. I've wanted this for so long, you and a family. I just didn't expect it all to happen in the same weekend." He said with a small chuckle. He got up off the couch and stood with her. She was trying to hide her face behind her hair and he needed to look in her eyes. "Bella…Isabella Marie Swan…look at me." He said setting down the picture on the side table and bringing his hand under her chin to raise her head to make her look. "I would never think that you would have stayed with me last night to get me to come here, to get me to stay. I know that you are capable of taking care of Michel by yourself. You have for ten years now. I'm here to stay Bella. You're stuck with me. Now that I'm here you won't have to be alone in raising Michel."

"Edward I don't expect you to…"

"No I know you don't, but that doesn't mean that I'm not going to anyway. Bella. I knew before I came here that you had a son. I knew that and I came anyway. I would have taken care of Michel then, because he's part of you. Now that doesn't change. In fact…I think I had better go to the store, because I'm certain I've been shirking on Christmas presents." He said trying to get her to laugh and succeeding. He pulled her close and they stood there in her living room with her forehead resting on his shoulder and his head on top of hers. It amazed him sometimes how they seemed to fit together. Finally he had to speak. "What does…What does he think…What does Michel think happened to his father?"

She took a deep breath and looked up at him. "I guess I've been lucky. He went through a phase where he wanted to know, but I told him that you lived somewhere else, and that you traveled for your job. He never really asked for more information so we left it at that."

"How are we…" He started to ask but was cut off.

"I have no idea Edward. I really don't. I've been thinking about that for a while. I just don't…I know he's old enough to sort of understand, but…"

"I know. I was around his age when my parents had their accident. I had to change parents…at least he's just adding one."

"True." Bella said leaning her head back to his chest. "And you know…I think you'll have better luck getting Michel to accept you than Jake and Dad. They'll be the tough sales."

"I can imagine. When I meet your father, can we make sure there are no weapons around?"

She laughed out loud as she pulled away to pick up the blankets on the floor. I reached down to help her fold them. "Don't worry. I love you too much to let him shoot you."

"I'm glad." He answered with a smile. "So when are the boys expected back?"

"Well…usually right before dinner. "

"Is everyone…Is everyone coming back here afterward."

"Jake, Dad, and Michel yes. Billy has a tribal meeting tonight, but yes I guess the important people."

"Oh…well…"

"You don't really have to worry too much Edward. They'll be on their best behavior in front of Michel and I won't leave you alone with them."

"Good because your dad could kill me and bury it in police records." He said only sort of kidding. She laughed anyway


End file.
